Few days after grand Ram Temple Prana pratishtha and right before retirement... A district judge in Varanasi has announced an important decision that will have a huge impact on the country's politics and social fabric The Hindu side was granted permission to worship in the sealed basement of the Gyanvapi mosque Hindu side had claimed that the mosque was a place where worship was done till 1993. After the police barricaded the mosque in December 1993, the tradition of offering food and offering rites was banned The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid's management committee has claimed that these claims are false. They claim that there was no worship done in the basement. The sealing was done under supreme court order in 1995. District court ignored this fact. Supreme Court has denied to hear this case. Muslim side was asked to knock on the door of High Court Worshipping has started in the basement. With one permission, Gyanvapi Masjid, Kashi Vishwanath Temple legal matter has taken a big turn. The matter is being heard at three different levels of the country. Some people consider this order as a big victory and its comparison is being done by opening the locks of Babri Masjid. Which in 1986, after which no one could stop Ram Janmumi movement and the entire politics of the country changed. A few days ago, the Archaeological Survey of India found that... ... there was a huge Hindu temple at the place where the Gyanvapi Masjid is And that a few parts of the temple were modified to make a mosque. After this report, there is a demand to hand over the Masjid to Hindus. Even if this happens, the transfer will not be so easy. At least legally. Let me explain.... The history of Gyanvapi is complicated. Different opinions are there and different researches have been done. What was there before the mosque? A lot of research has been done on that too. Was there a temple there before? Or was there a ruin of a temple? Or that building, was it Akbar's composite temple. We have already made an episode on this. You can watch that episode if you want to know more about Gyanvapi's history. Any adverse court order or controversial ASI survey will be challenged by the Muslim side - that they made clear for today's episode we will assume that all the courts and ASI committees will agree there once was a temple at Gyanvapi Even then handover or closure will not be easy as Babri masjid case Reason is the most complicated factor which is Places of Worship Act, 1991 This act has become a barrier between New India's bulldozer rule and the old secular India. You will hear a lot about this act in 2024. Many people are in favour of it and many hate it. People are wondering whether this law will remain or not This act is important to understand. Whether it will remain or not will decide the shape and color of New India in coming decades In today's episode, why places of worship act was brought and is it considered the basic structure of our constitution? Can it be changed? Can it be removed? And finally, if we remove it, what will happen to our country? In August 1991, Congress government is in power. P.V. Narasimha Rao, the Prime Minister of the country. One year ago, in 1990, under the leadership of L.K. Advani, BJP and Sangh Parivar organizations organizations started the Ram Jam Bhoomi movement which caused a tense atmosphere in the country. Hindu-Muslim riots were taking place and more than 500 people were killed. In this atmosphere, Narasimha Rao took a decision that whatever is happening with Ayodhya should not repeat again and again. This should not go in a repeat loop otherwise religious disorder will continue ... us versus them and mistakes of Babur Aurangzeb On 23rd August 1991, a bill was introduced in the parliament .... Places of Worship Special Provisions BJP MPs opposed it .... MPs started to interrupt each other in the Parliament after this BJP MP Ram Nayak said that this is the darkest day of Parliament The MPs of Janta Dal and Left supported this bill and it was passed. The aim of Places of Worship Act, 1991 is to prohibit conversion of any place of worship and to provide for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on 15th day of August 1947 In simple language, the place of worship of whichever religion it is, will remain of that religion. Its religious character cannot be changed. Hindu temple will remain Hindu temple. Mosque will remain mosque. There can be no conversion between two sects of the same religion. That is, no Catholic church can be made a Protestant church. And for this, the Act has set a cut-off date. 15th of August, 1947. The day of independence. That means, any religious character of a place of worship, which was there on 15th of August, 1947, that same character will continue and will be legally protected by the Union of India. If there is a place of worship, which was built after 15th of August, 1947 then the religious character at the time of its construction will be preserved Now, there are some exceptions in this law. First, those disputes which were settled in 1991 through mutual agreement. Then there is no problem. Second, monuments and archaeological sites. And third, the biggest exception here is......the Babri Masjid-Ram Janma- Bhumi dispute. Because, at that time. So, it was understood that it would be better to exclude legal proceedings. Politically and logically. That's why later when Supreme Court named the disputed land as Hindu and built a temple there, this law was not violated - because it was an exception. The interesting thing is that this law, leaving aside Ram Janma bhoomi controversy, This law tries to end all other controversies. If there is a pending case, in which the case of pre-August 15, 1947 conversion is going on, then also it will be terminated. That is why when the slogan of Kashi Mathura was made, then a narrative around Gyanvapi emerged So, Places of Worship Act always started to be at the center stage. Because, if you talk about the Gyanvapi mosque and Mathura's Eidgah and the hundreds of temples, Gurudwara and church are protected under the same places of worship act. If you want to legally remove the mosque and make a temple, then you have to first end the places of worship act. Many people don't agree with the fact that why only 15th August 1947? If a place of worship has been forced to be converted before that, how can it be justified to leave it? This is a very important question. Some MPs raised this question in the parliament in 1991. So important to understand. There are two basic principles which have fixed the date of 15th August 1947. This is not an arbitrary date. These are the two principles on which our country's laws and rules are based. First, state secularism and second, non-retrogression. People largely understand state secularism. Indian republic is not of a particular religion so it is duty to protect everyone and everyone's places of worship Since the independence of India, all the places of worship in the state are the responsibility of the state to protect all these places. Now, let's come to the principle of non-retrogression. This principle is very important We will not be lost in history. Before independence, there were different kingdoms. There is a history of thousands of years. There are many bloody wars. There have been many mistakes in history. Many places of worship have been destroyed and converted. But it is not the purpose of state of India to reexamine, excavate and re-allocate its history. Which Shivalaya was originally Jain temple? Was Buddhist temple destroyed? Was there temple in place of mosque? This is not the work of our state. Because this work will never end. The purpose of the state is not to weigh the entire history, but to ensure that at least after independence, when a sovereign democratic state is formed, then the bloodshed, the religious disputes should not be allowed. It should be about unity and inclusive growth. Everyone should have education, jobs and development. This is the responsibility of a state. The Supreme Court has also said the same thing. In 2019, the Supreme Court gave its verdict in the Babri Masjid Ram Janmabhoomi case. We have made a detailed episode on this at that time as well. What questions were raised in that case? What will happen next? We are not dissecting that decision. We are going to take you to the 82nd paragraph where Supreme Court's 5 judge bench has talked about Places of Worship Act Places of worship act 1991 is a way to heal injustices of the past A guarantee that after independence, all religious communities places of worship will be preserved. This law addresses itself to the state as much to every citizen Its norms bind those who govern the affairs of the nation at every level Every politician has to keep the spirit of this law After that, it is written in very clear words.... state has by enacting the law enforced constitutional commitment It has implemented its own constitutional obligations. That it will uphold the equality of all religions and secularism - basic features of the constitution Important point is that this law is constitutional, it is a part of the spirit and basic features of its directions constitution. Supreme Court has said that non-retrogression is a foundational feature of the fundamental constitutional principles of which secularism is a core component. No one can talk more clearly than this. No court record or judgment can be written more clearly than this. But this act has been challenged on different grounds. So don't think that this act cannot be removed. BJP's leader and advocate Ashwini Upadhyay has filed a petition. One of his arguments is that this act restricts judicial review. That is, if a person thinks that their right to worship has been snatched, they will not even get a chance to file a case in court. Why? Because if 15 August 1947 is the cut-off date, I cannot even file a review petition. I cannot appeal, which is violation of my right. This cut off is arbitrary according to petitioners, ignoring the historical injustices. Therefore, the Places of Worship Act is violating the right to religion. Secularism, i.e. their secularism is also violated Many believe that the cut-off date should be 1192, not 15th August 1947. 1192 should be kept when Mohammad Ghori defeated Prithviraja Chavan. The petitioners use this logic that Mughals were barbaric invaders who destroyed temples. That is why the cut-off date should be kept for Mohammad Ghori. Retrogression should be there. Otherwise, there will be no justice. So, for them, retrogression is justice. But, as the Supreme Court has also said that non-retrogression is the foundational feature of our constitutional principles. It is not the state's job to judge what happened during the era of Mohammad Ghori. 1192, Battle of Panipat and Battle of Plassey are not the best dates for a state. The most important date is 15th August 1947, when the country was freed. And then it became a sovereign democratic republic. At that time, the state had the responsibility to protect the places of worship. Yes, some people believe that the date of independence is 2014, but that is besides the point. If they allow the principle of retrogression legally, then there are more complications. There are many kings in history who destroyed the places of worship of their enemies to show their power. There are many inscriptions where the Hindu king had desecrated the Hindu temples after defeating the other king. Will you take revenge for them? Early 10th century - The Rashtrakuta king, Indra Ⅲ defeated Pratihara and destroyed temple of Kalapriya And recorded it in detail that they did this And you will find many such examples that the Shaivite or Vaishnavite kings converted Jain and Buddhist places of worship, or broke them. Now, we will take revenge for them too. Because it is possible that tomorrow Jains and Buddhists ask for their sacred places back. And there is no need to go back 1000 years. Mala Araya community, the tribal community of Kerala, claims that they are the real owners of Sabarimala temple. The people of their community were worshipping the temple from 1902. At that time, the royal family and their priests removed them from the premises. So, will the Adivasis also bring their retrogression? These claims have historical backing. But the Sangh Parivar and Ashwini Upadhyay will not fight their case. Only one historical fault line will be scratched. For religion or politics? You are the judge. Some petitioners have adopted a new approach in the case of Gyanvapi Rakhi Singh, a plaintiff of Shringar Gauri Suit 2022, has said that...... the Varanasi District Court will have to decide what was the religious character on cutoff date 15 August 1947? She is not saying that a Hindu temple was demolished 400 years ago. She is saying that on the cut-off date, Gyanvapi was a temple. So, places of worship are not triggered here. Because, if on 1947, 15th of August, the same place was being worshipped, then everything is fine. In India, there are many places where people of different religions perform their rituals side by side. There is no problem. It has been going on for decades. The problem comes when the political haters come to destroy peace and brotherhood In the premises of the mosque till 1993, daily worship of idols was done on the back wall This was stopped because some VHP and Bajrang Dal workers threw 300-400 pots of holy Ganga water towards the mosque. Then the administration started barricading and the daily puja was also stopped. Otherwise, the puja was going on peacefully. When the judgement of Ayodhya came, some innocent people felt, people like us also felt, we also had hope that... finally, our country will have discussion on economy, education, health care, social justice, Hindu-Muslim unity, Ram Rajya. It was not even two weeks from Pran Pratishtha, when the narrative was re-started to distract people and keep gathering votes First, Ayodhya, then Kashi and Mathura. But this is not going to stop here. Same script started in MP. MP police arrested 4 people in Kamal Maula Masjid in September 2023. They were trying to keep the statue of Devi Saraswati in the premises of Kamal Maula Masjid. All 4 people were connected to RSS and claimed to be members of Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha who later said the idol appeared there. Because there is an ancient Saraswati temple in the vicinity of Kamal Maula Mosque. There is no fact in its history but it is claimed. Such statues will probably appear in many more mosques. And politics of Muslim invader, Muslim hate and Hindu glory will go on Places of worship act is there to stop changing religious character of Kamal Maula Mosque but BJP government can repeal it Party supporters say that Places of worship act is not in the basic structure of the constitution. Parliament can change it. You know that they will get the numbers after 2024. Will the Supreme Court ignore previous sayings and approve the removal of this act? Or will it say that this act is a basic structure of the constitution and Parliament cannot amend it Finally, the politicians are trying to figure out how many votes will be given to them in the elections. If they feel that the issue is hot, people can be misled, then you think that this movement is going to start again. If they understand that people now want peace in the country, education in the country, jobs in the country, people talk about it... then it is possible that this matter will cool down again in a few days. So which way the country is going will be decided in few days and what happens to places of worship act Long video, but the issue is complicated If you like our work, like the video and subscribe to the channel You can also support us by joining as member or on patreon.com/thedeshbhakt
